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Over the next few weeks, the 2015 NFL Draft prospects will be performing at their school pro days in an effort to elevate their draft value. The following list will provide you with an update as to the reported performances around the country.

3/2/2015:

MINNESOTA:

-TE Maxx Williams reportedly looked the part during positional drills and rested on his testing numbers from the 2015 NFL Combine.

-RB David Cobb did not perform.

VIRGINIA:

-EDGE defender Eli Harold increased his bench reps by one (24) and jumped 34.5″ in the vertical. He decided to rest on his remaining testing numbers from the 2015 NFL Combine.

Compiling player rankings for an NFL Draft class is like trying to put together hundreds of small jigsaw puzzles. Several years ago I thought it was all about the tape. Watch three games or more of each prospect then make a call. For 200 players that was at least a 600 piece puzzle. But each year I’m finding more pieces under the couch and in the garage. I wanted to consider known injuries and off-the-field issues like arrests and suspensions. Those are pretty self-explanatory. Some importance should be placed on measurables – height, weight, arm length and hand size. Then I wanted to find a way to factor production into the equation. That led to the “box score scouting” tiers I’ve written about previously. And of course, I could never forget about all of those wonderful bits of data gathered from the athletic testing at the scouting combine and (read more…)

The RSP Film room is back again, and I’m excited to share this tutorial about the running back position as Matt Waldman is joined by Chad Spann, former Northern Illinois and NFL running back. In today’s episode, Matt and Chad view the tape of Ameer Abdullah, RB, Nebraska. Abdullah had one of the more impressive 2015 NFL Combine performances, so I thought it would be fun to take a pre-combine look at the Cornhusker’s tape. Remember: Matt’s comprehensive NFL Draft Guide, The Rookie Scouting Portfolio, is available for purchase on April 1, 2015, and can be ordered HERE.

Add another potential starting quarterback to a mix that includes 13 different starters since the 2008 season.

The Cleveland Browns inked veteran quarterback Josh McCown to a three-year deal Friday. The financial terms were not disclosed in a report from NFL.com.

The Browns were under the impression they found their franchise signal-caller last May when they selected Johnny Manziel with 22nd selection in the 2014 NFL draft. After a disastrous season that included two underwhelming starts, both losses, and a trip to rehab, the Browns chose to seek more stability in the quarterback position in signing McCown until they have a firm grasp on who will be their quarterback of the future.

McCown, a 12-year vet, had a subpar year in comparison to his 2013 with the Chicago Bears, a season in which he boasted a 13-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio while filling in for Jay Cutler.

He is an excellent edge-rusher prospect who has rare physical traits and athletic ability. His weight is an issue, but he could step in right away and make an impact as a Leo or 3-4 outside linebacker. Gregory can also be a fantastic nickel rusher initially as he adds weight to his frame for a 4-3 team. He is nowhere near his ceiling yet and is still an excellent player who makes a significant impact in every game. He has the potential to be a perennial Pro Bowler.

In a draft full of players with great potential but plenty of caveats, Winston is the poster-child. While much ado has been made about Winston’s off-field issues (and understandably so), he also has enough on-field concerns to give NFL front offices pause. His mechanics and on-field decision-making aren’t consistent, but his arm talent, football intelligence and leadership ability are rare traits that can’t be taught. He’s the most pro-ready passer in this draft, and should be the top overall pick.

Winner of this year’s Heisman Trophy, Mariota suffers from the “system QB’ argument thanks to his many predecessors who have racked up gaudy stats in spread offenses but flopped at the next level. Mariota’s skills as (read more…)

With a little more than two months remaining before the 2015 NFL Draft, prospect overviews are being added to DraftBreakdown.com’s player pages every night. I recently added my take on Nelson Agholor (WR, USC), which can be found below.

Overview:

Nelson Agholor, the junior wide receiver from the USC Trojans, enters the 2015 NFL Draft after a prolific 2014 season and a productive all-around collegiate career. A starter in each of the last two years, Agholor totaled 103 catches for 1,313 yards and 12 TDs in ’14. He finished the season as a First Team All-Pac12 performer and Third Team All-American. In 2013, he managed 56 receptions for 918 yards and 6 TDs. He finished that year as a Second Team All-American and First Team All-Conference player. For his career, Agholor totaled 179 catches, 2,571 yards and 20 TDs. He offers added value on special teams, (read more…)

No matter what anyone tells you, the NFL Scouting Combine matters, as it is relevant and important to evaluating the talent of prospective NFL players. Every year there is a huge debate among the draft community about the importance of metrics and analytics to the process of analyzing talent. Some believe that film is all that should matter, some feel the analytics are more important and others believe in various amounts of both.

The fact of the matter is that metrics have their place in scouting and are a valuable tool to utilize as you project and rank prospects. Metrics and analytics are great ways to find trends and establish thresholds or baselines that players should meet to become a functional player in the NFL. They also do a great job of establishing athletic profiles that produce the best results in the NFL.

*The following includes excerpts from NDT Scouting’s 2015 NFL Draft Prospectus. To learn more about NDT Scouting and the availability of the NDT Scouting 2015 NFL Draft Prospectus (available for pre-order starting January 15, 2015; $10.00 USD/April 15, 2015 release date) visit www.ndtscouting.com! NDT Scouting aims to collaborate both a comprehensive film evaluation grade (not included) with weighted peripheral metrics of size, experience, athleticism and production (also not included) to provide readers with a complete look at the prospects of the 2015 NFL Draft.*

With the Combine having passed us by, the difficult task of sifting through the loads of information available to draft analysts, writers and fans alike now looms. What you choose do do with this information is ultimately up to you as an individual and there is no right or wrong way to interpret the data. Ultimately there is no direct correlation between specific data (read more…)

Monday’s NFL Scouting Combine events featured the defensive backs participating in on-field drills. Here at Draft Breakdown, we are making the results of the workouts and weigh-ins easy to track with our 2015 NFL Scouting Combine Results Tracker.

Beyond the measurable aspects of the Combine, there were on-field drills that allow evaluators to examine the movement skills and athletic ability of the prospects. Below are some of my notes and takeaways from the day’s events.

Human beings should not be able to jump like Connecticut DB Byron Jones did today. Seeming to never stop elevating, Jones leaped an insane 12’3’’ in the broad jump to go along with a 44.5” vertical jump. Only a few weeks removed from labrum surgery, Jones did not run a 40-yard dash but with that type of lower body explosion, an excellent time is anticipated (read more…)

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